Ban on Teflon Chemical Tied to Fewer Low-Weight Babies

Banning a chemical used to make Teflon led to a sharp decrease in pregnancy-related problems.

Perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, had been used in many consumer products, including nonstick cookware, food packaging, electronics and carpets. The chemical was linked to a range of health problems, including low-weight births. Beginning in 2003, its use was gradually phased out in the United States under an agreement between government and industry, and eliminated by 2014.

PFOA blood levels peaked in 2007-8, and then declined consistently each year through 2014. PFOA was implicated in 5 percent of low-weight births in 2007-8 and in 0.5 percent in 2013-14.

The researchers estimate that 118,009 low-weight births could have been prevented from 2003 to 2014, resulting in $13.7 billion in savings.

“It’s important to highlight the role of the Environmental Protection Agency in this,” said the senior author, Dr. Teresa M. Attina, a research scientist at New York University. “They sponsored a program with this goal in mind, acting in a good way by involving industry in the interest of public health.”

Correction:

An earlier version of this article mischaracterized the researchers’ findings. They estimated that 118,009 low-weight births could have been prevented from 2003 to 2014, not that they had been prevented.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page D4 of the New York edition with the headline: Pregnancy: Teflon Ban Helped Babies. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe